Nels Cline's Stained Radiance at Winter Jazz Fest 2011 (more by Andrew Frisicano)

Winter Jazz Fest is returning to NYC in 2012 and will take place in multiple Greenwich Village venues from January 6-7 including Le Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall, Kenny's Castaways, Zinc Bar, and The Bitter End. Artists performing this year include Bill Laswell, DJ Spinna, John Medeski, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, Nels Cline Singers, Vijay Iyer Trio, Tyshawn Sorey, Mary Halvorson, Bernie Worrell, Marco Benevento, Jenny Scheinman, and many more. Two day passes and single day tickets are on sale now. There is also a kickoff show happening at Le Poisson Rouge on January 5 with Medeski / Skerik / Deitch, Red Baraat, and Marc Ribot's Young Philadelphians. You can also purchase a pass that includes a ticket for this show plus the two day festival pass (it's a little confusing, but if you click through on each LPR ticket link, you'll see the various options for each one).

The full schedule is below...

Continue reading "Winter Jazz Fest 2012 (January 5-7 in NYC)"

Todd Sickafoose & Mary Halvorson

Speaking of Andrew Bird (who has a big headlining free Brooklyn show coming up), check out who the players in Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors are:

John Ellis * sax + clarinet
Alan Ferber * trombone
Andrew Bird * violin + looping
Steve Cardenas * guitar
Jonathan Goldberger * guitar
Ted Poor * drums + percussion
Todd Sickafoose * bass + piano

Tickets are still on sale for the Undead Jazz-presented show happening on May 18th at Le Poisson Rouge that also includes a set by the Mary Halvorson Trio

Meanwhile catch Mary Halvorson with Jessica Pavone at Littlefield in Brooklyn tonight (4/28). All Mary dates below...

Continue reading "Andrew Bird is part of Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors who play w/ Mary Halvorson who also plays tonight..."

Founded in June 2010 the Undead Jazzfest is new kind of festival, bringing together an incredible array of artists from the new jazz and improvised music community currently exploding in New York City. With no headliners, affordable tickets, unorthodox venues and no drink minimums, the Undead Jazzfest aims to shake the public perception of what jazz can be today, celebrating the incredible music being made in a setting that is inviting to both the veterans and curious new fans.

Encompassing eleven venues over its four days (6/23 - 6/26), the Undead Jazzfest will feature appearances from more than 50 bands including names like Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Mountains and many others. The full list of participating bands is below. Four day passes are on sale for $45 until 4/28. The price increases to $50 after.

Undead Jazzfest is also responsible for curating another show outside of said festival, this one going down at Central Park Summerstage on June 11th with Medeski Martin & Wood, Josh Roseman's King Froopy All Stars and Jim Black's AlasNoAxis. It's one of many free 2011 Summerstage shows that have been announced.

AND, Undead Jazz presents a show at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (4/25) with Orchestre National de Jazz with Daniel Yvinec and John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble with special guests Theo Bleckmann , Kate McGarry and Uri Caine. Undead Jazz also presents Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors and Mary Halvorson Trio at the same venue on May 18th.

Full Undead Jazzfest 2011 lineup below.

Continue reading "Undead Jazzfest 2011 lineup announced, tix on sale now, and other related shows too"

by Adam Schatz (Search & Restore)

Mary Halvorson (photo by Peter Gannushkin)

Mary Halvorson's sound is a hyena, sharp and active. Historically, the classic jazz guitar tone and reputation is closer to a basset hound. 9 out of 10 dentists prefer the one who's out for blood. Standing out from the pack, Halvorson's strings cut with beauty and precision. Her melodies are hooky and complex at the same time, no small feat, and her talent for improvising with her hand picked ensemble is one to be seen to be believed. There is a fluidness to her style, and it is all in the art of juxtaposition. She is jagged but defined, aggressive but beautiful.

On Thursday, January 13th, she's performing at Littlefield in Brooklyn in a collaborative trio with improvisers Weasel Walter on the drums and Peter Evans on the trumpet. This double whammy show pairs Halvorson's crew with Mostly Other People Do The Killing, an gloriously titled high energy group (sharing Evans on the trumpet and Talibam!'s Kevin Shea on drums), smashing jazz aesthetics with subtle and not so subtle humor and phenomenal talent. Don't miss it.

The Littlefield show is a record release party for the trio's new record, Electric Fruit, out January 25th via Thirsty Ear. It will be Mary's first release in 2011. She lists nine that came out in 2010. Those include the notable Mary Halvorson Quintet album, Saturn Sings, which was released via Firehouse 12.

Mary can also be found tonight, January 12th, playing with Marc Ribot at Le Poisson Rouge. A video and all of her tour dates can be found below...

Continue reading "a spotlight on jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson (and tour dates)"

By Andrew Frisicano

Jenny Scheinman & Jason Moran @ Winter Jazz Fest @ LPR

Winter Jazz Fest 2010 brought a diverse lineup of contemporary jazz to six Greenwich Village venues on Friday, January 8th and Saturday, Jan. 9th. The sheer number of compelling acts in one place made the fest a great primer for anyone interested the current state of the scene (a topic many of the reviews have addressed). By all accounts it was a big success, with an engaged and diverse crowd turning out. The gigs I went to were all well-attended, mostly-standing affairs (NY Times reports 2,500 attendees at the fest's sold-out Saturday night). The tight schedule (short 40-minute sets) and the closeness of the venues gave a definite festival atmosphere to the shows (like the LES during CMJ). Though some venues had lines waiting to get in (like the cozy Zinc Bar), it was still totally possible to see who you wanted to with a little planning. At each show I managed to find spots close to the stage as the previous crowd shuffled to their next destination.

On Saturday I got a late start and still caught six sets: Jenny Scheinman & Jason Moran at LPR, Claudia Quintet with Gary Versace at the Bitter End, Vijay Iyer Trio at LPR, and Mary Halvorson, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Tyshawn Sorey's bands, all trios, at Kenny's Castaways.

Tonight (1/19) you can catch Vijay Iyer and some of the other Winter Jazz Fest names (Lionel Loueke, Dr. Lonnie Smith) at (Le) Poisson Rouge's jazz-based Haiti benefit concert. The lineup (with special guests TBA) includes organizers Groove Collective, DJ Logic, Bernie Worrell, Roy Hargrove, Yatande Bwakaiman Vodou Drums and Swiss Chris, plus Loueke with Richard Bona, Smith and Iyer. Tickets are on sale. Proceeds go to Haiti Action, Hands Together, The Lambi Fund of Haiti and Grassroots International.

Benefits are also happening this month at City Winery and The Bell House.

Pictures of the above-mentioned WJF acts, videos and more words about the music are below...

Continue reading "Winter Jazz Fest 2010 in pics & words ++ LPR jazz Haiti Benefit (with some of the same people) tonight"

by Andrew Frisicano

two of these three guys will be there (one w/ Jenny Scheinman, also on the cover)

NYC's Winter Jazz Fest will be happening Friday, January 8th and Saturday, January 9th at a handful of Village venues. Both nights include more than a few worth-while acts (Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Jamie Saft's Whoopie Pie, Vijay Iyer Trio, Jenny Scheinman & Jason Moran, the late-night triple-play of Mary Halvorson, Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition and Tyshawn Sorrey Guitar Trio). Tickets for Friday-only and Saturday-only are on sale, and two-day passes are available too. The full schedule is below...

Continue reading "NYC Winter Jazz Festival - January 2010 @ various venues "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Mary Halvorson & Weasel Walter - Lapis Lazuli Nights (MP3)

Weasel Walter @ Bug Jar, Rochester, NY, 9/21/08 (photo by Joe Tunis)

"I'm hard-pressed to find contemporary free jazz that I can relate to. I want to hear really violent fucked-up free jazz records, and I don't hear anybody else makin' 'em, so I make 'em myself." -[Weasel Walter in L.A. Record]

Drummer/composer/improviser Weasel Walter is visiting Bard College Thursday (3/5) to give a video lecture on "the NYC No-Wave sound, complete with rare footage and audio from bands involved in the movement." (Walter wrote an introduction to Marc Masters's book on the subject, No Wave.)

He then comes to Zebulon in Brooklyn on Saturday (3/7) for a jazz improv gig with NYC guitarist Mary Halvorson. The pair played together during Walter's last NYC stint in September. Expect a disquieting, dynamics-filled set that touches on both Halvorson's melodic debut CD, Dragon's Head, and Walters's tension-heavy drums.

Among the releases coming from WW's ugEXPLODE label is a possible Walter/Halvorson/trumpeter Peter Evans CD-R, out this summer. From MySpace: "i'm toying with the idea of putting out some stuff of that trio from our previous gigs, but haven't discussed it with them formally yet. there was a lot of video shot of two of the sept. shows, and we may release some of that as well."

Hardcore/metal group xBxRx, which features WW on drums, is currently mixing its next record, which Walter described as "some improvised tracks as well as songs...sonically rich and varied. totally intense, as usual."

The Flying Luttenbachers project is disbanded, but the group's punk & avant-jazz-filled second album, Constructive Destruction, featuring Ken Vandermark, Jeb Bishop, Dylan Posa, Chad Organ and Weasel Walter, is now up as a free download at ugEXPLODE.

All tour dates and live videos (including Sept 19, 2008 @ Zebulon) below...

Continue reading "Weasel Walter - a No Wave lecture @ Bard, Zebulon, other tour dates & free downloads"